


Puffball

by kappa77



Category: Thrilling Intent (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/F, First Meetings, Fluff, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-15
Updated: 2015-03-15
Packaged: 2018-03-16 20:29:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3501806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kappa77/pseuds/kappa77
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My extremely late Secret Santa gift for Elfy.</p><p>Involves Ashe as a barista, Inien the coffee hater, and Markus the flirtier barista.</p><p>Huge thanks to Cara for betaing</p>
            </blockquote>





	Puffball

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Elfy (elfowlgirl)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elfowlgirl/gifts).



Being a college student was more expensive than Ashe had expected. With all the textbooks, food, alcohol, and other things she had to buy on a weekly basis, not even the small amount of money her father sent in from time to time helped that much. Then again, he never supported her wish to go to a college outside of Meathe, so the checks he sent out were meager at best. She needed a job, anything to supply a regular income so she could eat like a normal human being.

After weeks of searching, she finally found a job at a local coffee shop and bakery. It was one of those tiny ones that somehow survived with the larger chain coffee houses popping up on every corner. On the outside, there were a couple of metal chairs and tables set up under a fading red and white awning. Above that, it read “Alaran Bakery and Café” in white script against a gray backdrop. Inside, the tables and chairs were set up near the front with the counter near the back stretching from wall to wall along the back, displaying whatever pastries and other foodstuffs were baked that day. It always smelled heavily of different types of coffee.

It was surprisingly easy to get the job; the owner didn’t seem to care about her credentials or the bakery in general. He seemed out of place, owning a café when he looked more like the type to rob someone. She’d always doubted that his real name was Thog. The job working the register and the coffee/tea section was easy and the pay was enough for her to afford more than ramen and chips.

On top of it, Markus also worked there at the register. They had met on her first day of college, when he ran into her, knocking himself over as she merely stumbled back. She helped him up, making some comment about “how damn light you are”, before helping him pick up his scattered books and papers. An accidental glance at his schedule showed they were heading to the same class and once she had pointed that out, he had immediately latched on to her, talking the whole way to their shared class.

However, his dream was to work back in the kitchens, baking anything sweet and sugary. She was suspicious at first of him being near anything requiring exact measurements and fire, but he turned out to be a damn good baker, nearly everything he made turning out like a picture on a food blog. He tended to hover over Dont’s shoulder, watching intently as she baked bread, cupcakes, or anything, really. Ashe had asked Dont one day if she found his constant peering over her annoying, but Dont had surprised her when she admitted she liked the attention.

Ashe, on the other hand, contented herself with staying behind the register. Working in the front, he met a lot of strange people, with a lot of odd and some nearly impossible tastes of drink. She and Markus would often find themselves in the back, giggling over the people ordering decadent drinks and being shocked when they found out that “No, I can’t get you an iced coffee with the ice at the bottom of the cup”.

Thankfully, not all people were that idiotic so it wasn’t hard for Ashe to pull on a smile and straighten up as the bell rang, signaling the door opening. The customer walked casually in, hips swaying in a way Ashe had only seen when Markus forced her to watch models walk down a catwalk (He was in it for the glitter and extravagant outfits, while Ashe only half paid attention). Her eyes locked on the customer’s long blue cardigan and black hair flowing behind with a few strands stubbornly staying in her face. She tore her gaze from the customer’s clothing to her face. As she got closer, Ashe could see that her eyes were nearly identical in color, a similar golden hue.

“Hi!” Ashe said, as cheerfully as she could at ten in the morning after the early rush, “What can I get for you today?”

The customer looked up at the menu, pulling her bottom lip in between her teeth as she did so.

“Doooooo you have anything special today?” the customer asked, looking back to Ashe.

“Yes, we do! We have Café Americano, Cafe au lait, and-”

The customer sighed, holding up a hand. “No, no. No coffee, that stuff’s for barbarians. I’ll just have a medium Earl Gray, please.”

Ashe brushed off the customer’s rude attitude and insult to coffee. She’d heard worse in the past, sometimes even directed at her or Markus. She rang the customer up, absentmindedly watching as the customer signed her name in tight script. She tucked the receipt under the counter and grabbed a cup with the letters “ABC” in messy red script from the side and her marker from her apron. Using her teeth, she uncapped it, throwing the cap to the other side of the counter with a flick of her head.

“Your name?” Ashe asked, pen hovering above the cup.

The customer smiled, leaning forward ever so slightly.

“Inien.”

Ashe nodded, writing it down on the cup. She recapped the marker and moved back toward the machines.

As she waited for the machine to warm up, she half turned to Inien. The silence between ordering and picking up felt like it lasted forever, so Ashe would try to fill it with small talk if she could. Markus was the real whiz at it. He was able to hold conversations on anything and everything, no matter who was ordering or if he knew what the hell he was talking about. For her, she was best at holding conversations with students, then they could go for the entire time complaining about this professor or that set of homework.

She made sure Inien wasn’t busy before asking, “I, um, haven’t seen you around here before… do you go to the college here?”

Inien looked up from one of the books she had taken out from under her arm. She smirked.

“No, Spyre University. It’s not that far from here. I came here looking for a friend, Markus. He does work here, right?”

“Oh yeah, it’s just his day off. He’ll be back here tomorrow.” Ashe turned her attention back to the machine, pressing the buttons and pouring everything needed into the machine, placing the cup below the spigot. She turned back to Inien, waiting for the machine to spit out the tea. “How’d you two meet?”

“Summer program a couple of years ago. He… caught my attention.”

“Yeah,” Ashe said with a chuckle, “he does that.”

The machine let out a loud hiss and she turned back to the machine, going through the same routine as she did every day, soon holding a hot cup of the tea. She snapped on a lid as Inien asked a question.

“How come you don’t have one of those name tag things?”

Ashe looked down at her chest and then back to her, confused.

“We… don’t have those here.” She walked back to the counter, where Inien was toying with the rim of the tip jar.

“Then how am I supposed to know your name?”

Ashe arched an eyebrow, placing the tea down between them. She folded her arms. “Why would you-?”

“What if I need more service?”

She paused, before slowly responding. “That’s really more for restaurants and waiters, isn’t it?”

Inien tapped her finger to her chin, “Alright then, I’ll just have to come up with one if you’re not going to tell me.”

Ashe nearly dropped the full cup in surprise. “Wait, what?”

The customer ignored her question, smirking as she calmly stated, “Five…”

“No, no, no-“

“Four…”

“Why are you doing this!?”

“Three…”

Ashe grabbed the tea and practically shoved it in her face. “Just take your damn tea!”

“…Two,”

”Will you stop count-“

“One! Okay, I’m gonna call you… Puffball!”

Ashe stared at her, mouth slack in disbelief. Her grip on the cup was starting to loosen, but Inien took it out of her hands with a smile on her face.

“Thank you, see you tomorrow!” she chirped before turning and exiting.

Ashe stayed in the same position until Markus walked in minutes later, whistling something peppy, but stopping when he saw the dumbfounded look on Ashe’s face.

“What happened to you?” he asked, quickly walking around behind the counter.

“I… I honestly do not know,” she replied, still staring at the door. Then, remembering something Inien had said earlier, turned to Markus and asked, “Do you know an ‘Inien’?”

Markus’ concerned look quickly turned into a smirk. “Oh hell yeah I do. Never too sure if I like her or think she’s an asshole.”

“Yeah, well she came here looking for you and-”

“She’s in town for me? Well, there’s the non-asshole part for you.”

“I wasn’t finished. She came in here, called coffee something barbarians drink, asked for you, and then when I didn’t give her my name, she called me Puffball!”

Markus looked at Ashe for a moment before bursting into giggles. He leaned against the counter for support as his laughing grew out of control. Ashe crossed her arms, brow furrowed.

“What?”

Markus wiped tears from his eyes, “Oh, it’s nothing… Puffball.” He continued laughing even as Ashe smacked his arm, wincing a little.

“But seriously,” he said, straightening himself out and slowly rubbing the spot where Ashe hit him, “that’s just Inien for you, she does it more often than you’d think.”

“Well I don’t like it,” Ashe huffed. Her eyes followed Markus as he walked away into the back, where they dropped off their stuff.

“In fact, from the sound of it, I think she likes you,” he called behind his shoulder.

“She didn’t even tip!” she shouted to the empty room. She ignored the laughing she could hear from the back room as the next customer walked in.

~-~-~-

Ashe wasn’t supposed to come in the next day, but Markus had called her that morning, muttering something about “hung over” and “too many keers” and “pleeeease, Ashe”. She didn’t question it, especially because she was just fine dealing with one Kier.

Begrudgingly, she slipped on her uniform: white short-sleeved collar shirt with the same “ABC” embroidered on the breast with the full name underneath and black slacks. She slipped on a pair shoes at the last moment, grabbing her keys.

She quietly rushed out of her apartment, making sure not to wake Gregor as she shut the door. The walk to Alaran Bakery and Café took less than 5 minutes, but she could tell she was already late by the small group of people waiting by the door. Ignoring the burn settling in her legs, she picked up speed, racing down the block to the front door. She gritted her teeth, cursing Markus for not being able to work through a hangover and for calling her so late that she’d have to cover for him. Letting out a harsh breath, she pushed past the crowd to unlock the door. People poured in after her as she ran into the back room, clocking in and grabbing a red apron with the logo written in white. She blitzed through her normal routine, turning everything on and prepping the machines that needed water or coffee beans before stopping at the cash register, panting slightly as she began to take orders for the rush hour.

The next few hours passed in a blur as the rush hour continued. Near the middle of rush hour, her legs began to shake and her eyes threatened to close. Thog eventually had to step up as a second barista. He didn’t look angry. If anything, he seemed madder at Markus for throwing this on the two of them.

As the rush hour dwindled down, Thog shooed her away, practically ordering her to sit at one of the open tables.

“You look like you can barely stand. Let me handle this crowd, then I’ll get Markus off his lazy ass and into work,” he said pointedly between customers.

Ashe could barely protest, legs taking her to the table on automatic. She fell into the chair with a heavy thump. She groaned softly as her feet were free from carrying her. Rolling her shoulders and feeling them pop, she sighed quietly. Her whole body relaxed into the metal chair, and the thought of falling asleep briefly passed her mind. With that, her eyes slowly shut.

The bell rang again and Ashe could hear footsteps stop near the door. There was a small gasp and the footsteps got louder, approaching the chair Ashe was resting in. She opened her eyes and tried her hardest to hold back a sigh.

In front of her, Inien stood, wearing the same cardigan as yesterday with her hair kept out of her eyes by an indigo beanie. Her eyes practically sparkled with excitement at seeing Ashe.

“Hi, Dandelion! Wasn’t expecting to see you here today,” she said with a smile.

Ashe stiffed at the nickname. Of all days, this was the last day she wanted to have to put up with Inien. She didn’t want to deal with the random customer who was apparently fixated with her and her name and who coincidently was fairly pretty. All she wanted to do was sleep.

She gritted her teeth, trying not to acknowledge the stupid nickname. “Well Markus needed to get over a hangover so I’m covering for him.”

“Really?” Inien looked to the counter, where Thog rang up another customer. She looked down at Ashe again. “You don’t look like you’re doing much of anything.”

The barista glared up at Inien. “I ran in here late for the rush hour and am now extremely tired.”

Inien nodded slowly, “Alright, I see… Puffball.”

Ashe tilted her head back, groaning, “Can you stop calling me Puffball?”

“But then what am I gonna call you?” Inien asked, a complete look of innocence on her face.

“I… I don’t know. You don’t have to call me anything!”

“All I’m looking for is a name,” Inien stated, tilting her head.

Ashe sighed, racking her brain for a name to give Inien to placate her.

“Fine! My name is… uh… Kelly.”

Inien looked at her for a moment before bursting in to laughter, banging her fists on the table. Ashe stared at her, confused as tears started to run down Inien’s cheeks as she continued to laugh loudly. She glanced around, taking a small comfort in the fact that no one paid them any attention. She looked back to Inien, who was still laughing.

“What?!” she demanded.

Inien wiped tears from her eyes, laughter dying down. “’Kelly’? Are you serious?”

“What’s wrong with that name?!”

“There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s a perfectly good name, just not for you.”

Ashe sighed heavily, putting her face in her hands.

“Why are you so stubborn?” she muttered quietly to herself.

Inien, having overheard, shrugged. “How should I know?”

Ashe shook her head, sighing.

“I’m not telling you my name without-“

Thog called out from the counter, “Hey, Aesling! Markus is on his way if you want to go home early before your next shift!”

Ashe blinked, watching as Inien’s face turned into one of pure glee. She groaned, putting her elbows on the table and her head in her hands.

“Sure Thog. Thanks,” she replied, frustration evident in her voice.

Inien, on her part, didn’t gloat. Instead, she held out her hand, a smaller smile on her face.

“Nice to meet you, Aesling.”

“Just call me Ashe,” she replied automatically.

Inien raised an eyebrow, her hand still out. Ashe glanced at her hand before begrudgingly taking and shaking it.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Inien.”

~-~-~-

After Inien left that day, tea and muffin in hand, Ashe thought that would be the last Inien would bother her.

Or, at least, that’s what she hoped, deep down as she closed her eyes and the door shut behind Inien.

It didn’t happen.

Inien returned to the Alaran Bakery and Café nearly every morning when the traffic wasn’t bad and she didn’t have a morning class. Her timing would be perfect as she’d always arrive after the rush hour, so after buying her tea for that day, she could linger, leaning against the counter, throwing questions rattling on inanely at Ashe when she wasn’t busy. Ashe ignored her at first, letting Markus pick up the conversations if they were working a double-shift. But when it was only her working the counter, Inien would spring for her chance to ask whatever stupid questions she could.

The first time Inien brought up one of her stupider questions, Ashe was held completely off guard.

“Are you from Tennessee?”

Ashe stared blankly at Inien as she continued.

“Cause you’re the only ten I see!” Inien finished with a grin.

Ashe smirked as she finished punching in Inien’s order into the register.

“I’m not that oblivious to not see that’s one of the cheesiest pick-up lines ever. I hang around Markus on a daily basis, remember?”

Inien nodded, smile still on her face. “True. I just wanted to see your reaction.”

Ashe made a small “hm” as she walked over to the machine to fill up Inien’s cup. A small moment of silence passed between them before Inien piped up again.

“So where did you live before coming to Alaran, Puffball?”

Ashe paused, her grip on the lever for the tea dispenser loosening for a moment. Telling Inien where she came from could end up going badly. Either Inien could make a shitty remark about her home and Ashe could lose it, or Inien could be considerate for once in her time at the coffee shop and keep her trap shut. The odds were not in her favor.

“Meathe.”

Her eyes squeezed shut as soon as she said that. Why did she? She had no clue! It just came out like nearly everything Markus said, without thought for the possible consequences. She sighed internally and opened her eyes, glancing at Inien.

She, on the other hand, was leaning on the counter, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

“Meathe, huh? Wow, I’m surprised they let you out of there!”

Ashe tightened her grip on the lever, silent as Inien continued to talk.

“Aren’t they that super conservative town that has their own college so their kids don’t leave the town at all? Wow, sending you here must’ve been like sending sheep to slaughter.”

Ashe nearly crumpled the full cup. Everything Inien was saying was true, one hundred percent, and under other circumstances, she may have agreed with Inien. But now, it got to her. It got to her bad. She was this close to lashing out at Inien, but she wouldn’t deserve that, right? Ashe immediately retracted that thought; Inien deserved a lot of things, but she didn’t deserve Ashe’s fury on a topic she had no idea would trigger bad memories. Without a word, she practically stomped over to the counter, slammed on a top, and shoved it in Inien’s face, forcing her to step back.

“Here’s your order,” Ashe growled, barely keeping her voice down. “Now go.”

Inien, on her part, looked fairly intimidated as she took her cup and walked out. When the door opened and the bell attached rang, Ashe let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” she thought silently, tears threatening to spill. “What the fuck did you think would happen?”

She looked down, trying to hold back tears, and finally noticed her other hand in a white knuckle fist. Letting out another deep breath, she relaxed it. Her eyes widened when she saw her nails had broken through her skin, leaving 4 small, red semi-circles. Hastily grabbing a napkin from the side where sugar and milk was kept, she pressed it to her palm.

She looked up as the bell rang again, this time as Markus walked through. She thanked her lucky stars as he did so.

“I’m on break!” she huffed out, practically sprinting past him. He barely had time to respond before the bell was ringing once again, this time as Ashe walked out.

Ashe let herself run down the sidewalk, barely paying attention to the people she nearly ran into. She hated when the mere mention of her home set her off and it took a significant portion of the day to calm herself down.

Eventually she slowed down to a walk. Her feet knew exactly where to take her. She’d taken this path multiple times, whether it was because of finals, another assholes’ comment, or anytime she needed a moment to herself.

In the park in the middle of town, down the path that went past the brightly colored playground and calm lake, off where the paved section ebbed into worn dirt, a grove of willow trees stood. The person who planted them placed the saplings so close, that their branches created a wall of leaves, looking more like vines twisting and tangling with each other.

Ashe gently pushed the delicate branches away and stepped into the area protected from sight by the branches. She sat down on the worn, wooden bench someone before her had put. There she stayed, humming songs that rarely failed in cheering her up, or at least making the hurt in her heart lessen.

She lost herself in her humming, focusing on the melody and calm breeze that passed through. She didn’t notice Markus when he entered through with two cups of coffee. She had no idea when he found her hiding spot, but he did have the decency to leave her alone for a while before deciding whether or not to join her.

He stood off to the side, eyes focusing on anything except Ashe. She appreciated him keeping boundaries for once in his life. When she felt sufficiently calmed down, she waved him over, shifting to leave him room.

“I thought you were working the counter,” Ashe said, taking the cup. She glanced down, smiling a little to herself when she saw he had prepared it with enough cream and sugar to make it seem nearly white. She took a small sip.

Markus shrugged, “Thog is going to have to learn to hire more than two people to work the counter.”

Ashe let out a huff of a laugh. “Who’d he hire? Gregor?”

“Oh dear God, that would not go well,” he said, a smile forming as he thought of what their friend would be like working at the coffee house.

The two sat in silence for a moment, thinking of the possibilities that would come with Gregor in a retail job. The silence lingered on, the only sounds the rustling of the tree branches until Markus broke it.

“So I’m not going to ask if you’re okay but… are you better?”

She stared at her coffee, not answering. The answer was lost to her as well.

“I can probably get Thog to ban her from the coffee shop if you want,” he continued nonchalantly.

“No, no.” Ashe picked her heard up to look at him. “I’m not going to ban your… friend just because of me.”

Markus opened his mouth to object, but Ashe cut him off.

“I’m fine, really. You don’t have to kick her out. She’s… annoying, but I can deal with her.”

“Well… if you’re sure-”

“I am,” Ashe said, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She took another sip of her coffee. “This is really good.”

Markus leaned back on the bench, a smile now on his lips.

“I’m glad you like it.”

 

In the days following, Inien made no mention of Meathe whenever she visited the shop. Instead Inien continued to rattle on aimlessly, to which Ashe gave either one word answers or noncommittal hums. She hoped Inien would get the message of “Stop talking to me, I’m not interested” but she didn’t, continuing her one-sided conversations every time she came back. Ashe fumed silently as she did so. Markus on the other hand, found it all highly amusing.

Once Inien left the coffee shop one day after an intense back and forth concerning their major and which was more important , Ashe turned to Markus, her hand fisted in her hair.

“Why does she do this?!”

Markus shrugged, “She likes you?”

Her hand dropped as well as her mouth. “But she annoys the hell out of me.”

He shrugged again. “That’s pretty much how she works.”

“Oh, ok, so does she act like this to everyone?”

“Well... not everyone.”

“So I’m a special case?”

He grinned. “Seems so!”

She groaned, leaning against the counter. “God, she’s such a-”

“Witch! A witch, right!” Markus said loudly as a mom and her kids entered the store. The mom raised an eyebrow at the two baristas. Markus waved at them, a stupid grin on his face.

Ashe gave him a thankful glance before stepping up to the register, plastering on a small smile as she greeted the customers.

~-~-~-

The people who frequented the Alaran Bakery and Café were generally nice people. Ashe could probably count on one hand the times a customer had screamed at her for “messing up” their order or whatever lie they had made up to try and get their order for free. Those incidents tended to occur during the busy moments of rush hour, where Markus or sometimes Thog would be with her and could back her up.

She desperately wished one of them were with her right now.

The man was apparently upset with his order, but Ashe had no idea at this point. Ashe had lost the man’s point a minute ago, somewhere between “too much cream” and “horrible service”. His face turned a shade redder with every word her screamed.

By this point, Thog would’ve kicked the man out with a threat of “never come back”. Markus would’ve already snuck in several backhanded comments, making them leave with a huff. But Ashe had no idea what to do.

She had no doubt she was stronger than the man, but her tongue wasn’t as silver as Markus’ and she didn’t have the same intimidation factor as Thog, so she was left taking the abuse the man shouted at her.

Then, out of nowhere, a hand was on the man’s shoulder and he turned around. For a moment, Ashe caught sight of long black hair and a familiar black cardigan.

Inien spoke in a hushed voice, but Ashe could still hear the firmness in her tone. As she continued to talk to the man, his shoulders slumped and his head hung down. He muttered something in return before turning round. His face was still beet red, but more of embarrassment than anger. With his eyes cast downwards, he took his order and muttered a quick apology before hurrying out. Ashe watched him until he was out of sight, then her eyes fell to Inien.

“What’d you say to him?” Ashe asked, keeping her voice even.

“That he was an asshole that shouldn’t shit on those who provide him service,” Inien replied. Surprisingly to Ashe, Inien looked absolutely serious.

She said nothing in response, absentmindedly wiping the counter, waiting for Inien to place her order.

Instead of that, Inien said, “You looked like you needed help.”

She glanced up at Inien before looking back down, wiping just a bit harder at the already spotless counter. “I was fine.”

“Your face said otherwise.”

Ashe was silent.

“Your face is pretty expressive. In fact, you’re probably one of the most expressive people I know, Puffball.”

That made her look up, her head cocked to the side. “Really?”

“Yeah, I’ve never seen one person give me a different eye roll every day of the week.”

Ashe snorted, which made both her and Inien erupt into a giggle fit.

~-~-~-

Ashe didn’t immediately start talking to Inien after the ordeal with the customer; one good act wouldn’t rectify Inien of her irritation, but slowly, Ashe’s answers to questions grew longer than a few words.

They still didn’t see each other outside of the café. Ashe assumed that had to do with the fact that they both attended different colleges. Ashe wasn’t concerned; she liked the feeling that she could only see Inien at one place.

So when she literally ran into her on the sidewalk, she was a bit surprised. She didn’t even realize Inien was walking in the other direction until she fell backwards, flat on her ass with a startled shout.

She sat up faster than she should have, rubbing her head. She looked up and was surprised to see Inien standing opposite to her, picking up her own bag that had fallen. She grumbled, but stopped once she saw Ashe sitting on the ground.

“Oh, hey.”

“Hey.”

Without another word, Inien held out her hand and Ashe took it. She pulled her up, making her squeak in surprise at the sudden burst of strength she had no idea Inien had.

She muttered her thanks, brushing off her pants and picking up the bag she had been carrying.

“Ooooh!” Inien said suddenly, “what are those?”

Ashe looked up to see Inien smiling, eyes fixed on the blue tattoos revealed by her shirt. She didn’t usually wear sleeveless shirts, especially not for work, but today had been especially hot so she decided to wear it. It revealed the blue bands around her biceps as well as the tops of the tattoos the peaked out of her top.

Ashe pulled her straps back up, doing a poor job of covering them. They still poked out behind her tank top and the arm bands were still completely visible.

“Just tattoos,”’ she said, fingers tracing the blue bands,

“Are you sure?” Inien asked, arching an eyebrow, “Because if I remember last semester correctly, in Meathe, dark blue tattoos like those have some special meaning. So what do yours mean?”

Ashe’s eyes widened, “I- I’ve never met someone outside of Meathe who knew that.”

Inien shrugged, “Comes with the Culture major. So…?” She ended the sentence with a grin.

“No.” Her fingers unconsciously traced over the thick blue lines.

“Come on,” Inien’s smile widened, “I won’t tell a soul.”

Ashe started to protest, to say her tattoos were private and her own damn business to who she told their meaning. But she stopped, reminding herself that Inien was a persistent motherfucker who would not rest until she found out what the tattoos meant.

“Fine!” she shouted, making a passerby jump in surprise.

On a whim, she grabbed Inien’s arm and pulled both of them in a nearby alleyway. Inien raised an eyebrow, but before she could comment, Ashe held up a hand.

“I’m the one that’s going to be now talking, alright!?” she gritted out. To her surprise, Inien listened to her, miming zipping her lips shut.

“Okay then.” Ashe put her hand down. “My tattoo… it’s a tree with branches reaching up my back and around my front. And, no, you can’t see them.”

Inien looked put off at the last comment, but said nothing, now leaning on the slightly grimy wall, waiting for the rest of the story.

“I- I guess you could say it represents my mother. She died a few weeks after giving birth to me. My father never talked about her, but he kept everything she had owned. That’s where I found this design, in one of her sketchbooks. When I saw it, I instantly knew that was the tattoo I wanted. So I adjusted parts of it and then went to the parlor and got it.”

Ashe looked away from Inien, down at her feet, up to the top corner of the building they were between. “My father was furious. He expected me to get something more traditional if I ever were to get one of these tattoos. He wasn’t happy seeing me inked with one of his wife’s drawings.”

She paused, curling her hand into a fist. “He really hated it. Before he seemed to want to forget my mom, storing all her stuff in a corner in the attic and the fact that I searched through it, took her drawing, and got it inked-” Ashe brought a hand up to her face, wiping her eyes. “He didn’t talk to me for a month.”

Inien said nothing as Ashe rushed through the final portion.

“And after that things were tense between us. He didn’t realize that I wouldn’t want to be sheltered my whole life and I wouldn’t listen to any of the bullshit traditional things he said.” She unclenched her fist. “He didn’t support me going to college outside of the town, didn’t say goodbye, but he does send money from time to time.”

The two stood in silence for a moment.

“See? Now don’t you feel-”

Before Inien could finish, Ashe interrupted her with a hard slap across the face. She would’ve preferred Inien to be quiet the entire time, but if she wasn’t going to do that, she’d make her be quiet. Inien grunted, holding her now red check.

“Worth it,” she muttered, smirking.

Ashe let out a long suffering sigh, hiking up her bag and turning to leave the alley. Inien’s hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Hey, you drink, right?"

Ashe turned to face her, raising an eyebrow at the question, but still answered. "Yeah I fucking love it."

Inien smiled, "Well in that case, I was wondering if you'd like to come to the bar with me. Tonight."

Ashe stared at Inien for a moment. They’d never talked about hanging out together outside the café before, but here they were, standing in the middle of an alleyway.

"I…Yeah, sure why not."

"Fantastic!"

Inien smiled as she pulled out her phone. The two swapped numbers as Inien talked rather excitedly about the bar “The Truth” that she’d discovered the other day.

"Any reason why you're asking?" Ashe asked.

Inien shrugged, "I just thought it'd be nice to go someplace different to talk, instead of the coffee place... and here," she added as an afterthought.

Ashe rolled her eyes, but agreed it would be nice to meet somewhere other than the Alaran.

But she knew she’d never hear the end of it from Markus.


End file.
